The perfect team — Experience, knowledge, and a desire to teach youth exemplifies a top notch group of counselors.

hoto Credit: Paul Nelson

Max King, Co-Director

Max has done a little bit of everything. From the roads and the track to trails and mountains he enjoys the sport of running and want to pass on what he's learned over the years. He's excited to share his experiences and knowledge in a small camp setting and instill a passion for adventure.

He lives in Bend, OR with his wife and two adventurous kids. He has multiple world championship titles and has run on trails all over the world with some of his favorite trails right here in Oregon.

Kari Strang, Co-Director

Kari brings a passion for coaching youth that is seldom surpassed. She has been coaching youth running through Junior Olympics, middle school programs, and CORK programs for over 6 years.

She's the "heart" of the team. Helping our campers feel that connection to running, the earth, and wilderness during their time at camp.

She resides in Bend, OR and you can usually find her on some new running adventure, stretching the bounds of her comfort in the wilderness.

Melanie Mangin, Chef

Melanie is the camp organizer/chef extraordinaire. As former Pilot Butte Drive-In owner, Footzone Business manager there is nothing the Melanie can't do.

She'll be providing nutritious homemade meals for campers during the week and making sure they have food that will fuel their adventures during the week and impress a healthy lifestyle.

Sarah Bard

Sarah is originally from Maine and has been running around outside since she was very young and more formally since middle school. While she primarily races on the roads, she spends most weekends on the trails; hiking, skiing, snowshoeing, as well as running. Sarah loves being outside and spending time in the backcountry and is constantly learning with each new challenge and adventure.

After living and running in numerous cities and towns across the country (and beyond), she has recently settled in Seattle and is spending most of her free time in the Cascades and exploring the city on foot.

Aaron Newell

Aaron is our resident adventure addict bringing a youthful exuberance to camp that is hard to find (I think it's the result of his love of sugar though) He's a runner as well as a climber and has some pretty impressive adventure stories that you can ask him about while at camp. He is Wilderness Responder certified and will be taking care of your bumps and bruises. Aaron resides in Missoula, MT and you'll usually find him running and scrambling one of the nearby peaks.